Think You Know Everything About Nutrition? Here Are 5 Things You Can Learn From mbg's Functional Nutrition Program

That's why I jumped at the opportunity to take mindbodygreen's Functional Nutrition Program I was both confident that I'd know most of the material and excited to find out if I'd learn anything new. Here were my major takeaways:

Every instructor weaves the thread between their respective topics—brain health, heart health, hormone health—and their bottom line is always to start healing the gut first before doing anything else. While you can understand already that everything is connected (truly taking a holistic approach to wellness), this program drives home that treating the gut will help eliminate bodily inflammation, and thus, help relieve other symptoms & ailments due to poor diet & lifestyle.

Kelly's Sustainability module really put things into perspective for me. I try to eat as local, organic, and in-season as possible, but it can be difficult on a limited budget and if you're a city-dweller. However, with some small changes to your weekly grocery shop, you can make a huge difference. A fact from Kelly that really shocked me was, "For example, broccoli has a really high respiration rate, and even the refrigeration slows its deterioration. One study found that vitamin C levels were nearly undetectable at a mere seven days post-harvest." See attached study guide, specifically page 17, with infographics of carbon footprints.

As all of us in the wellness world know, fat used to be enemy and now we're finally shedding light on the fact that it's the type of fats we eat that are incredibly important to indicate our health. Many of the instructors in the program discuss how our Standard American Diet is full of the wrong kinds of fats—too much saturated fat, trans fats from processed food, and too much omega-6 (pro-inflammatory fat) compared to omega-3 (anti-inflammatory fat). All of the instructors encourage consumption of healthy fats, high in omega-3's, and if cooking, have high smoke points to prevent break down into cancerous substances. For anyone trying to learn how to get their health back on track, it doesn't do them any good by labeling fat good or bad; instead, this program demonstrates that fat is an important part of a healthy, functional-nutrition-focused diet, as it satiates you between meals, keeps your blood sugar stable, and provides necessary fuel for your brain and cells.

As a woman, my hormone health has become a huge focus for me. I was really surprised to learn that women, more so than men, are hugely impacted by fluctuations in their blood sugar and how their hormone levels fluctuate along with it. Our poor diet, high in inflammatory foods, affect cortisol and insulin, two key hormones in managing the metabolization of carbohydrates. In addition, poor gut health prevents key nutrients from being absorbed during the digestive process, and in turn, diminishes adequate hormone production to carry out key processes in the body. Especially relevant now, with more women experiencing infertility & period problems, this program sheds some light on how women need to make their gut health & diet a priority in order to start improving their issues. Again, it all comes back to gut health!

I'm a working professional, it's easy to get caught up in the day to day grind and grab for a protein bar or run out for a snack to combat hunger. After going through this program, I can honestly say I've taken more time to think about my food choices, plan out my meal prep, as well as my meals out at restaurants. I'm taking more time to ask myself, is this really going to nourish me in my future, or just for right now? does this food help promote my health, or just promote my feel-good-feelings right now? "Food should be functional," as Kelly says straight from the get-go, and it really embodies how I feel after taking this program.